It was raining. The sky was dark and miserable, cloudless. Her screams echoed through the air. Distraught, he searched the village, every nook and cranny she could fit into.

Nowhere. She was nowhere. Her screams were all around him, driving him mad.

With a bolt of lightning his surroundings lit up. He was surrounded by the villagers, and all the Leaf shinobi.

A thud behind him. With another flash of lightning he found her body on the ground, unmoving.

He screamed, scooping her small frame up in his arms, cradling her body close as the tears fell from his eyes.

"No. . ." he whimpered, "no!"

His chakra flared. His eyes narrowed.

He blinked and the scenery changed. He was in the mountains, a snowy region, dressed in winter gear. His team was with him.

They were all off on their own, fighting enemies shrouded in shadows. There was nothing but silence. Looking around, everything was in slow motion.

'What. . is this?' He thought.

And then she was there.

The snow was gone. There was nothing but the darkness to keep them company.

Her icy breath pillowed out in small puffs between them. Her face was down, hiding her eyes. Tears ran down her cheeks and she let out a whimper.

"Why? Why. . did you let them do it?"

No words came from him. Nothing but a small squeak as he hung his head and clenched his fists.

She looked up, eyes narrowed and blazing red as a low growl formed in the back of her throat. "Why would you let them do this to me? Naruto!"

She bared her fangs, snapping Naruto out of his trance.

Run.

Naruto turned on his heel in time for her fangs to sink into his throat.

"Hi. . Hikari. . " It was a dream. The same dream he's been having for weeks now. It's always about her; different variations of the same nightmare. Some nights they kill her, others it's him. Sometimes they save each other, if not from death then just by a simple sweet embrace.

She was gone. That much he knew. She disappeared years ago and never returned. He never gave up hope that one day he would see her again.

Naruto sighed and licked his parched lips. His throat was dry and scratchy from screaming all night, his bed completely disheveled.

He looked even worse. His skin was paler than his sheets; the dark bags under his eyes the only color on his face. His eyes were dark and bloodshot. It would take hours to look like himself again.

If only he had that time. The sun had already risen above the horizon, and while it wasn't time to leave he had no intentions of trying to rest anymore.

He skipped breakfast; he just had no appetite. A cold shower didn't help either. It didn't dull the ache in his throat, or the pounding in his head.

It was starting to get busy. The village was starting to wake up. Shops were opening, shinobi were rushing off to complete their missions, academy students rushing off to class.

A flash of pink caught his eye. Immediately he forced himself to perk up and put on a goofy grin.

"Sakura!" He chimed.

Sakura bit back a grimace at the squawk and waved. She waited for Naruto to bounce over before walking in to the classroom together, Sakura elbowing Ino away from the open seat next to Sasuke.

With a bitter laugh Naruto sat down below them, turning around to argue with Sasuke and Shikamaru, when the doors opened.

Naruto looked up and watched the three students take their seats, following the glistening red hair of the strange girl as she sat down next to Shino.

One of her underlings took the seat next to Naruto, obscuring his view. He bristled and gritted his teeth in frustration.

He hated them. They were nothing but bad news. They hated him. He was always picking fights with them.

The tension in the room thickened. Naruto was about to get up until Hinata laid a gentle hand on his arm. She shook her head in a silent plea. He sat down in a huff, muttering under his breath.

Her underling was watching from the corner of his goggles, eyes narrowed slightly. He snorted and crossed his arms, leaning back slightly. Finally Naruto was able to see.

Behind the tinted goggles on her face he could see her eyes were closed. Her black hair was faintly shining a red sheen, hung over her cheeks. Her arms were crossed, and her jaw muscles were working as if she were chewing.

A pain struck his chest. Anger built up behind it and he slammed his fists down on the table.

The room jumped and fell silent, watching.

The girl had one eye open now, watching silently. Her face betrayed nothing, but her underlings had the faintest bit of amusement in their eyes.

He was grinding his teeth again. He just wanted the teams to be named already so he could start training with his sensei. The room was incredibly stuffy, and he was getting all sorts of weird looks and whispers.

Minutes became hours as the Hokage was the last to speak, to congratulate them on graduating from the academy and becoming shinobi.

Naruto was in team seven with Sasuke and Sakura, with Kakashi as their sensei. Their first training day would be tomorrow, and Naruto was looking forward to it. He psyched himself up as he left the classroom with his new teammates. He would be the greatest shinobi ever!

As long as he could get over the final cold stare of the strange girl.